New matter management solution launched at British Legal Technology Forum

Meeting at 2016 BLTF sparked new joint venture

Eversheds Sutherland Consulting and Repstor have joined forces to launch a new matter lifecycle management solution for legal teams.

The launch event, held at the recent British Legal Technology Forum 2017 (#BLTF2017) in London, took place a year after representatives from Eversheds’ CIO team first met with Repstor at the 2016 BLTF and decided to work together to develop the joint offering.

Known as ES / Unity – Powered by Repstor, the solution will be delivered by the two organisations via a newly-formed joint venture. Eversheds Sutherland Consulting will advise clients on the project management and business benefits of the ES / Unity platform, while Repstor will provide the software-related expertise.

The solution is built on the Office 365/SharePoint platform, and is fully cloud enabled. Users can access many of the solution’s key tools via Outlook – the legal profession’s user interface of choice. The solution has been rolled out internally within Eversheds Sutherland but can also be deployed on the firm’s client networks as required. Besides offering numerous matter management tools, the solution also provides authorised users with sophisticated management information tools.

Speaking at the BLTF launch event, Graham Richardson, head of Eversheds Sutherland Consulting, said there was a clear demand among the corporate counsel community for technology that could help them manage their matters more effectively. At present, he said, many in-house teams lacked the budget, the internal IT support – and often market knowledge – to deploy their own solutions.

Additionally, Richardson added, many law firms were now looking for the next generation of matter and document management systems. By working in partnership with Repstor, he explained, it had been possible to develop a new solution that served the needs of both private practice and in-house lawyers.”

Repstor CEO Alan McMillen said: “What we’ve produced together is fantastic for both corporate legal departments and law firms. It really is about having best practice in a box.”

The integrated solution is fully configurable, secure and has excellent workflow and reporting systems built in, he added.

Commenting on the launch of the new joint venture at #BLTF2017, Netlaw Media Managing Director Frances Armstrong said: “In recent years, the BLTF has become Europe’s premier destination for law firms, chambers and in-house legal teams who are looking to discover cutting edge legal technology. But, as the Eversheds Sutherland Consulting / Repstor tie up shows, the BLTF is also now becoming a catalyst for legal IT innovation in its own right. Netlaw Media is delighted to have helped enable this innovation solution, to be developed.”

The British Legal Technology Forum is the 16th major conference focused on legal innovation, strategy and management organised by Netlaw Media since the company was formed in 2008.

The event was attended by more than 1,412 delegates from the world of legal management and technology. A total of 87 exhibitors took part in the event, which also saw 55 expert speakers give presentations across five stages during the course of the day.

All previous Netlaw Media events have sold out prior to the event taking place.

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